Please record twice: 1) slowly; 2) naturally
King James I of Scotland was a strict, but fair king. He had many enemies, though, and some high-class families wanted to take over control of Scotland.
One winter, the King, the Queen and her maids were staying in the Abbey in Perth, while the King's soldiers were far away, scattered around the town.
Some traitors decided that this was a good chance to kill the king. They paid some servants to take off the bolts and bars from doors, so that only the rings remained.
One night, as the King and the Queen were having dinner, they heard the noises of the armed men outside their door. They dropped their knives and forks and ran to a secret room where they hid.
The traitors burst in and searched high and low. They found nothing and went away. The King and his group came out of their hiding place. Unfortunately, the traitors suddenly returned. This time, there was no time to hide.
One of the Queen's maids was a woman named Katherine Douglas. She said, "There are no bars to slide through the rings on the door. I will put my arm through, to bar the door." She did this, and, for a while, the door held. She called out, "There is no one in the room." Eventually, the men outside pushed the door open and poor Kate's arm was snapped in half. Her brave act was all in vain. The traitors found the King and killed him.
News of Kate's brave deed spread through out the land. The Scottish word for girl is lass, and so she became known as Kate Barlass - the lass who barred the door with her arm!
